French society, which never stops talking about crisis, remains centered on
the same sterile subjects and seems worried for its future, going through a
serious crisis of confidence.

We interviewed a French-Lebanese entrepreneur who bet on the openness of the
world economy from the beginning of his career and asked for his opinion on the
future of the French economy.

"I am not a specialist in political economy or macroeconomics but I can give
you the vision of an entrepreneur," Hassan Hachem says. "From my point of view,
France has incredible strengths: an education among the most efficient in the
world, a real entrepreneurial spirit, widespread in the population, an
unparalleled capacity for global adaptation, a real opening to the world.
Outside, a diversified economic tissu, large savings capacity (10% of the income
saved each year for a total wealth of 12500 billion euros, the equivalent of six
years of GDP) and world champions in growing sectors and finally, a very
productive population. "

"But various factors have contributed to freeze the system over the last
twenty years: the reduction of legal working hours, the lack of competitiveness
of our companies, the lack of investment in research, which has led to our
country a delay in certain sectors, such as new technologies, while France has a
large human potential in this field.

In addition, the administrative burden and the high tax rate constitute a
brake on foreign investment. For Hassan Hachem, investment should be a bigger
part of the budget, debt and deficit management debate. In this perspective, the
debates about the need for a fiscal stimulus do not have the same meaning. He
believes that a stimulus policy will have little effect if it gives purchasing
power that households will use to buy smartphones made by Chinese companies for
Korean or American multinationals, paying little or no taxes in France. This
type of recovery is like wasting a precious fuel: the countries that succeed
today in the world apply a policy that is finally quite close to that of France
during the glorious thirties: a balance between long-term investments (roads,
highways, TGV, ports, technologies, research and development, education ...). "I
think that this has simultaneously helped raise the standard of living of
citizens and at the same time prepare the future by strengthening the French
economic fabric," Hassan Hachem continues.

"Finally, we must boost growth by overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks,
which would revive some industrial activities, to ensure the competitiveness of
French companies and their presence, especially in advanced sectors such as new
technologies. We must also be part of a logic of reducing our public deficit.
Maybe we should limit the lifestyle, more generally, the state not to mortgage
the future of our children. ""Let us hope that the current rulers are aware
of all this and that it will be remedied quickly. "